John Cena Sr. gives his brutally honest opinion on Roman Reigns
John Cena Sr. gave his opinion on the current-day WWE product during an interview with Boston Wrestling, including Roman Reigns’ recent character development.
John Cena’s father admitted he has been critical of Roman Reigns in the past, especially during his babyface singles run. However, he believes we are now seeing the best of Roman Reigns in his storyline with Jey Uso on SmackDown.
“It takes two [Roman Reigns and Jey Uso] to make it work, and for the first time in WWE, as far as I’m concerned – you know what I thought of Roman Reigns, I was always upfront with it. Now, I tell you what, it had to be Paul Heyman that thought about this one, and Vince McMahon, to come up with turning Roman Reigns heel. It’s the best thing they ever could have done.”
John Cena Sr. thinks The Shield carried Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns debuted on WWE’s main roster alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in November 2012. While his fellow Shield members previously competed in matches outside of WWE, Roman Reigns lacked in-ring experience when he began appearing on RAW and SmackDown.
John Cena Sr. said Roman Reigns was “carried” by Ambrose and Rollins during The Shield’s early days in WWE. He also believes WWE overexposed Roman Reigns, which ultimately led to fans turning against him.
“As far as The Shield goes, Roman was just part of a faction. The other two carried Roman Reigns, I’ll be right upfront with you. I think he will [agree with that] because he’s a very smart young man. I think the mistake they made with Roman Reigns was, ‘I don’t like roast beef but I’m gonna shove it down your throat anyway.’ And that’s what happened.”
Regarding Roman Reigns’ current character, John Cena Sr. praised his recent work as The Tribal Chief of the Anoa'i family. However, he still does not view him as the face of WWE.
“I think Reigns has reached a point in his life now where he’s on top of the world. But as far as you and everybody else saying the face of the company, it’s never going to happen again. You will never have the face of the company.”
Roman Reigns retained the WWE Universal Championship against his cousin, Jey Uso, at Clash of Champions and Hell in a Cell. He is currently preparing to face Randy Orton in a Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series on November 22.
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